SREL Reprint #2075

Coarse woody debris and woody seedling recruitment in southeastern forests

Rebecca R. Sharitz

Professor, Department of Botany and Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Institute of Ecology, University of Georgia,
Drawer E, Aiken, SC 29803

Abstract: Few studies have examined the role of coarse woody debris (CWD) in woody seedling recruitment in southeastern forests. Elevated substrates formed by logs, stumps and other CWD appear to provide sites for seed trapping, germination and seedling establishment in wetland forests that are frequently flooded during all or a portion of the growing season. Although their importance to the regeneration of the canopy dominant species may be limited, they may enhance the diversity of these forest systems by enabling the establishment of a variety of woody species. The chief value of CWD to seedling recruitment may be in providing an array of microhabitats on the forest floor and increasing environmental heterogeneity, thus providing regeneration niches for a mixture of species.

SREL Reprint #2075

Sharitz, R.R. 1993. Coarse woody debris and woody seedling recruitment in southeastern forests. pp. 29-34 In: J. W. McMinn and D. A. Crossley (Eds.). Biodiversity and Coarse Woody Debris in Southern Forests: Proceedings of the Workshop on Coarse Woody Debris in Southern Forests: Effects on Biodiversity, Athens, GA, October 18-20, 1993.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).